Cyber Monday once again netted record-breaking online sales. E-commerce retailers slashed prices, and more shoppers than ever avoided the usual bedlam of brick-and-mortar stores — opting instead to shop online.
In less than a decade, China has emerged as the world leader in e-commerce. It claims more online shoppers than any other nation. The numbers speak for themselves.
When drug company chief executive Heather Bresch was hauled in front of Congress last year to defend the high price of lifesaving EpiPens, she drew skeptical lawmakers’ attention to a large poster board that blamed the skyrocketing price tag on a coterie of drug supply chain middlemen. Of EpiPen’s $608 list price, her company, Mylan, received only $274, Bresch said.
The delays show that delivery networks such as UPS, which are critical components of the e-commerce boom, are still struggling to cope with the busiest shopping periods despite heavy investment to build out and automate their operations and capacity.
Amazon quietly began operations in Australia this month, the start of what could be a shake-up of that country’s retail market, which is worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
As the holiday season quickly approaches, it’s a good time to prepare. Unfortunately, with an ever-increasing amount of data, an increasingly complex and varied competitive landscape and demanding customers, the question is often: Where to begin?
UPS is testing a depot-to-door delivery system in central London. The Low Impact City Logistics project will reduce traffic congestion and emissions associated with urban package delivery by using a power-assisted delivery trailer. If successful, it could change the way packages are delivered in cities in the U.K.